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That's right, come for the social gaming, but stay for the menagerie of bizarrely voiced NPCs. Glad everyone had a good time!

Mission 1: Expedition to the Murky Cavern

The team was tasked with investigating a strange animal attack that occurred near the docks. Upon arrival, the bite victim was found prone and unresponsive; magical healing from Houdini revitalized the victim and caused a pulpy object to be expel from the wound. The object was found to be an egg when the lifeform within emerged and attempted escape. Magical force subdued the creature, and Cathal promptly bottled it for future inspection. The team identified it as a magical creature known as a "fustiblig": a dog-sized terror with two long tentacles that cause paralysis, two pincers with which it can pin its prey, and a stinger that injects eggs. Tharg and "dog" find sufficient tracks that lead to a freshly opened cave entrance.

Inside, the team was subjected to menaces both natural and synthetic. Egg, the rascal kobold, wounded himself on some caltrops near the entrance; Tharg was jumped by a blood-sucking grub that was dwelling within a corpse; Cathal, Egg, and Houdini were immobilized by spiderwebs while the warmech Cable was greviously punctured by a spider bite. Coming to a fork in the cave, the team went right and located a magical fire trap. The combined ingenuity of Egg, Houdini, Cathal, and Cable disabled the onyx trigger just as they were set upon by a pack of dire rats. The vermin proved little threat; however, Cathal's rifle discharged in his face, and Sir Nemo gallantly escorted him back to town. Down two people, the rest of the party pressed on.

The end of the hallway proved to be a fustiblig nest: one attempted a stealthy attack on the gnomish wizard, but dog's keen senses alerted the group to danger. A second crept up as the first was engaged - Egg's familiarity with cave fighting helped foil the ambush. Though hearty and nimble, the two beasts were felled before any friendly casualties were sustained. Dog delivered both killing blows.

Returning to the fork after finding little of worth in the western branch (except for the ring that Houdini found amongst a pile of bones), the party went north. They found and immolated a nook that appeared to be the former spider's nest, earning a decent pile of coins in the process. A small swarm of stirges stirred and sought to suckle on the spelunkers, the sound of which summoned a surly, spatial-shifting fustiblig showing signs of scientific speculation. Sound strategy, sneaky stabbing, and strong subdual saved the day. (Okay, okay, enough of that - Ed.)

The final room contained a table with books, notes, and chemicals; a fustiblig in a cell; and a hidden door that lead to a hatch within a fisher's hut. The group captured two men who entered the hut, both of whom insisted that they were simple fishermen. However, they did reveal that they had seen a tall, cloaked figure access the building infrequently.

With that, everyone is level 2, which earns you 5 more vitality, 4 basic class abilities, and 1 minor theme award. Next time brings Mission 2: The Mystery of the Missing Miner.

Just updating my character sheet now. Picked up a nice combo of cool abilities, and silly ones that are just characterful (although who knows, being able to conjure 20 gallons of fresh water may have some uses).

As for my Primordial Ray, its damage is 1d6 per two levels. That means I get 2d6 pew pew at level 2, right? (Seems obvious, but quite a jump in power...)

Looking back, it was a strange hybrid of CSI and Scooby Doo, part of which was due to poor time management on my part (sorry for going over time!). You guys did a terrific job of casing the scene, though, and I really wanted to show you how accurate your conjectures were.